I Say - Jack Krupansky

My personal opinions, random rants, and perspectives

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Cafe Philo in New York City in two weeks, Thursday, 5/5: What is the difference between preference and prejudice?

Cafe Philo in New York City will meet in two weeks, on Thursday, May 5, 2011 for a discussion on the topic of "What is the difference between preference and prejudice?" Ken Feldman, founder of the Café Philo in Washington, DC suggested the topic. It was indeed an honor for Ken to have attended our meeting this past Thursday.

The suggested topics for the upcoming meeting and their votes (out of 9 attendees):

Visual/intuitive thought vs. rational thought. (3)

Must man be a social animal? (3)

How do we account for the cause of events? (3)

Does determinism entail predestination? (2)

Can we measure emotional intelligence? (5, 3)

What is fashion and does it have any value? (3)

Are value judgments inherent in every discussion? (3)

Can we have pornography in a democratic society? (1)

What is the difference between preference and prejudice? (5, 4) *

Is dueling efficacious in a democratic society? (2)

I have been acting as guest moderator lately. Bernard Roy has been attending as a participant.

As usual, the meeting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the back room at Bamiyan Afghan Restaurant at the northwest corner of Third Avenue and 26th Street in New York City. In exchange for free meeting space, it is expected that each attendee will purchase a minimum of $5 of food or drink. A glass of red wine can be had for $6 (plus tax and tip.)

After winding down our discussion, we entertain and vote on proposals for the topic question for the next meeting.

There are also usually some attendees who go across the street to McCormack's Pub for drinks and food and extended discussion after Cafe Philo, but not limited to the scheduled discussion topic.

There are a number of small groups in the U.S. and Europe who meet regularly to discuss topics related to philosophy. Some of these groups go by the name "Cafe Philo." There is one here in New York City that meets every two weeks, every other Thursday. It is organized and moderated by Bernard Roy, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Ramapo College of New Jersey. Each meeting focuses on a specific topic which was suggested and voted on by the participants at the last meeting.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Made my 16th payment to pay down the public debt of the U.S. government

I just made my 16th monthly payment to pay down the public debt of the U.S. government. It wasn't a large payment, just another $25, but it is a matter of principle, albeit mostly symbolic. It may take me another 48 billion years to pay it all down all by myself at this rate (and assuming the deficit went to zero immediately), but, as I said, it is a matter of principle and a sense of personal responsibility. It is our debt, not somebody else's.

According to the U.S. Treasury web site, the total public debt outstanding was $14,270,792,119,184.89, as of April 14, 2011, an increase of about $37 billion over 23 days, about $1.6 billion a day or $591 billion per year (annualized daily deficit.) As bad as that is, it is actually better than 7 of the past 10 months.

We will reach the statutory debt limit within a month or so, but I fully expect a deal before this becomes a problem.

Here is what I wrote back in January 2010 when I made my first donation/gift/contribution/payment:

Everybody is whining and complaining about the ballooning debt of the U.S. government, but who is actually doing anything about it? Well, for starters, ME! Yes, that's right, I, Jack Krupansky, just did something to reduce the U.S. government debt. Really. No kidding. I actually paid down a small slice of this debt. Granted, it was a rather small slice, but a slice nonetheless. Okay, sure, it was only $20, but the point is that at least I am one of the very few people willing to stand up and DO something about the problem, rather than be one of the whiners and complainers who refuse to acknowledge that it is their debt and their problem, not just the fault of mindless politicians in Washington, D.C. After all, every politician ultimately answers to voters and most of the so-called wasteful spending of the U.S. government is simply politicians responding to the demands of their constituents (voters.) Maybe my one small contribution to paying down the debt won't really make any difference to any of those whiners and complainers, but for me it is a matter of principle. I consciously choose action rather than the inaction and lack of responsibility of the whiners and complainers.

If you have any sense of principle, you too can pay down a slice of the U.S. government debt yourself at Pay.gov. You can pay via credit card or debit transfer from a bank account.

So do the right thing and show all those whiners and complainers (including so-called "tax protesters") how mindless and spineless they really are. PAY DOWN THE DEBT! And that has to start at the grass roots with us individuals before politicians will ever pick up the lead.

For the record, the only real way out of the deficit is not to merely cut expenditures or raise taxes or some combination of the two, but through economic growth, which includes a healthy amount of immigration in addition to unemployed workers going back to work and young people entering the work force. Sure, we need to manage the federal budget more carefully as well and make difficult choices about the size of government and tax rates, but the big focus has to be on achieving sustainable economic growth. In truth, nobody, including all of the Nobel laureate economists, knows what that sustainable rate really is or how to get there. We'll stumble our way in that general direction. That's the way we do things in America.

Another note: A significant part of the deficit is businesses writing off losses from the financial crisis and recession as tax deductions. That may continue for awhile longer, but will gradually wind down and tax receipts from businesses will begin to pick up in the coming years.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Cafe Philo in New York City next week, Thursday, 4/21: Positivism

Cafe Philo in New York City will meet next week, on Thursday, April 21, 2011 for a discussion on the topic of "Positivism." I suggested the topic. As the Wikipedia article on Positivism tells us:

Positivism refers to a set of epistemological perspectives and philosophies of science which hold that the scientific method is the best approach to uncovering the processes by which both physical and human events occur. Though the positivist approach has been a recurrent theme in the history of western thought from the Ancient Greeks to the present day, the concept was developed in the early 19th century by the philosopher and founding sociologist, Auguste Comte.

Of course, Café Philo being what it is, each participant will bring their own perspective on the topic, regardless of what the "experts" may have concluded. One angle to explore is the limits of positivism, including the value of judgment and intuition, ethics, aesthetics, and how we deal with uncertainty. Another angle is the role of innate human drives, as well as chance.

The suggested topics for the upcoming meeting and their votes (out of 7 attendees):

Role of rhetoric. (2)

Positivism. (3, 3) *

Talk radio. (2)

Does determinism entail predestination? (2)

Is man a social animal? (3, 2)

Do we need dueling in a democratic society? (2)

What can we say about the future? (2)

Is the world overpopulated? (2)

What is a good Café Philo topic? (1)

I have been acting as guest moderator lately. Bernard Roy has been attending as a participant.

As usual, the meeting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the back room at Bamiyan Afghan Restaurant at the northwest corner of Third Avenue and 26th Street in New York City. In exchange for free meeting space, it is expected that each attendee will purchase a minimum of $5 of food or drink. A glass of red wine can be had for $6 (plus tax and tip.)

After winding down our discussion, we entertain and vote on proposals for the topic question for the next meeting.

There are also usually some attendees who go across the street to McCormack's Pub for drinks and food and extended discussion after Cafe Philo, but not limited to the scheduled discussion topic.

There are a number of small groups in the U.S. and Europe who meet regularly to discuss topics related to philosophy. Some of these groups go by the name "Cafe Philo." There is one here in New York City that meets every two weeks, every other Thursday. It is organized and moderated by Bernard Roy, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Ramapo College of New Jersey. Each meeting focuses on a specific topic which was suggested and voted on by the participants at the last meeting.

As usual, the meeting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the back room at Bamiyan Afghan Restaurant at the northwest corner of Third Avenue and 26th Street in New York City. In exchange for free meeting space, it is expected that each attendee will purchase a minimum of $5 of food or drink. A glass of red wine can be had for $6 (plus tax and tip.)

After winding down our discussion, we entertain and vote on proposals for the topic question for the next meeting.

There are also usually some attendees who go across the street to McCormack's Pub for drinks and food and extended discussion after Cafe Philo, but not limited to the scheduled discussion topic.

There are a number of small groups in the U.S. and Europe who meet regularly to discuss topics related to philosophy. Some of these groups go by the name "Cafe Philo." There is one here in New York City that meets every two weeks, every other Thursday. It is organized and moderated by Bernard Roy, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Ramapo College of New Jersey. Each meeting focuses on a specific topic which was suggested and voted on by the participants at the last meeting.